Stained
by Seven is Me
Summary: A nonsense piece of JA era fluff I wrote for my friend when she asked me how Jedi robes stayed so clean when they dropped on the floor. Not my best peice.


Authors Notes: This story was inspired by one of my friends while we went to go see "_Revenge of the Sith._" She raised an excellent point asking how their cloaks stayed clean when they keep dropping them to the ground. So, I wrote this. A little piece of fluff half hidden in angsty-ish-ness... yah.

**Stained**  
by Seven

Obi-Wan Kenobi, proud Padawan to galactically revered Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, was in a supreme state of anguish. The Force itself seemed to agree with him and unleashed a rather potent storm on the city planet.

Not he knew that as a Jedi he should have long outgrown the rising sense of dread and blind panic that threatened to overcome his exhausted mind. If only he weren't so tired... then it might not look _so_ bad. Maybe...

Now if circumstances had been even slightly normal, the boy would have sought out his master. However, after the most _...unique diplomatic,_ here he stopped to cough at the not quite humor, missions they had been upon in a long time seemed to be more than either of the pair could handle. His master was out for the count, passed out just a few feet away, and he was tired beyond all reason.

After all, endless arguments with politicians with the temperaments more suited to children of less than five standard cycles could wear on anyone. Really it could. Their temper tantrums made the attack by the rebel fraction a relief... almost. If they hadn't attacked during a rather pleasant day when things where almost as polite as a fight in the galactic senate. And that was considered progress!

The man child sighed. The battle with the rebel fraction had started like all others. With hastily shed cloaks, left to fall to the moist earth of the gardens outside of the attacked pavilion, and the snap-hiss of igniting sabers. After which both Master and Padawan began the dance of combat, honed into them so well that it resembled a well rehearsed dance more than anything.

Neither of the two humans had suspected this though! This was horrid, and it was not, **_was not_**, Obi-Wan's fault. It wasn't.

The boy was sinking ever closer to blind panic laced with deep embarrassment. He didn't even hear the large Jedi Master stir.

Qui-Gon rose, unsteadily onto his feet, and padded silently towards his apprentice. Jinn could not understand the rather unsteady emotions that came from the boy that may as well have been his own blood. "Obi-Wan?" He whispered cautiously into the room that was completely still save for the storm that raged and bellowed outside of the windows. "Padawan?"

The child started, nearly shedding his skin in his haste to comprehend what was happening. Gem like eyes looked upon him in startled fright for a moment, as lightning flashed outside once more. Before the Jedi Master could take offense however, it was gone, replaced by deep embarrassment. "Sorry Master..." Obi-Wan grinned sheepishly. "I was otherwise engaged."

Qui-Gon smiled, and nodded his agreement. The action seemed to smooth over his Padawan's frayed nerves like balm, but the nerves where still tense. Much to Qui-gon's displeasure. Even more unsettling however was that the boy had seemingly ignored the Master's order to sleep. "And what could keep you up despite a Master's orders young one?"

Obi-Wan had the grace to look ashamed. "I'm sorry Master," He muttered. "I couldn't sleep."

"You've been even more tired than I have." Qui-Gon pointed out.

Obi-Wan didn't answer, and merely pointed to the laundry bin.

"Now what about that laundry basket is so interesting?"

The boy blushed. "It isn't my fault." He answered just a touch to fast. "Well... not _entirely_... I think..."

Qui-Gon merely lifted an eyebrow at the odd response, waiting for a more detailed explanation. "Obi-Wan... What is this about?"

"Background material?"

Qui-Gon threw a slightly irritated, yet mostly indulging look at his Padawan. "Obi-Wan, why don't we pretend that I have no idea what you're talking about. Then try explaining whatever this is."

Gem like eyes shifted their gaze to the carpet of the common room. "You put me in charge of the background material."

"I know that Obi-Wan."

Obi-Wan cleared his throat. "Well..." The boy began hesitantly. "You know how we shrug off our cloaks before we begin any engagement?"

"As long as there is time. A robe can hinder movement." Qui-Gon answered, nodding sagely.

Obi-Wan went into full lecture mode then, "Tenalpbad is known not only for it's... _rambunctious_... politicains, but is also valued for it's high mineral concentration that are used for dyes all across the Galactic Republic for clothing from the very rich, to our own robes. Even the smallest amount of soil contains astounding amounts of the dyes that keeps Tenalpbad in the Republic."

Qui-Gon nodded, impressed at the amount of effort his Padawan put into his new responsibilities to Background research. Qui-Gon himself had never paid much attention to more than the culture aspects of background. That was all he really needed. He was, after all, a negotiator. "Obi-Wan, I'm glad you take you're duties seriously, but I fail to see what this has to do with our laundry, and your panic over clean clothes.

Obi-Wan sighed, before motioning for his Master to look in the basket.

Master Jinn did so with a little hesitance before falling backwards in astonishment. "Obi-Wan?" He sputtered. "What _happened?_"

"Heat from washing the clothes in the soil from the chosen region, followed by exposure to air high in electric static energy causes the dye to unlock, and well... stain the clothes." Obi-Wan concluded.

"And that's why?"

The boy only nodded miserably.

Qui-Gon's observed the cloaks on, sitting in all of their glory on the top of the bin, to his rather '_I-should-have-known-better_' looking Padawan. It only took the Master one tenth of a second to do something completely unexpected of a Jedi of Master Jinn's stature. He laughed. Filling the small rooms he shared with the child dearest to his heart with loud, jovial, chuckles. After little more than a moment, younger, more boyish laughter joined his own. And it was just as merry.

"Come now Padawan," Jinn smiled, after a pleasant ache made itself known in both of the humans sides. "Let us _both _go back to bed."

"As you wish, Master. But, what are we to do about..." The gem eyed boy trailed off, gesturing to the bin.

The elder males eyes twinkled. "I say that tomorrow, we go down and get new ones... and hide these ones so deep in our closets that not even Master Yoda can find them."

The younger's eyes must have grown as large as meal plates, considering that his Master devoted himself to a new round of chuckles. "We're keeping them?" Obi-Wan asked in amazement.

"As a reminder of a lesson that most beings forget all to easily." Jinn confided. "That even in the most unpleasant times, we can have something to laugh about."

The apprentice smiled at his elder in a seemingly innocently wicked way. Qui-Gon Jinn understood in that moment, he had encouraged his child's already wickedly sarcastic sense of humor. Then the tiny space in time was washed away as Obi-Wan tried to stifle a yawn.

Qui-Gon gently led the boy off to his bed. Before the Master went off to his own room to try to gain a few more hours of rest, he made sure that Obi-Wan would really sleep this time.

While the now splotched rainbow colored cloaks sat in all their glory on the top of the Jinn/Kenobi laundry.

End.


End file.
